After the basketball gala at the beginning of the European Championship against France, teammates and experts Maodo Lo predicted the future in the NBA.
“Maodo will be the next German player in the NBA,” said captain Dennis Schröder. Lo himself has not yet achieved his dream of jumping into the world’s best basketball league. “If a path leads there, that would be great,” Lo said. The 29-year-old Alba Berlin point guard does not want to be under pressure. “If not, that’s okay too. My goal is always to improve.”
“You have to get a contract or it won’t work”
Lo has previously played in college in the United States and appeared on the occasional NBA club. “There were contacts then,” Lo said, but the deal he was offered was only semi-guaranteed. “That’s why I chose Bamberg,” said Lo of his move to Franconia in 2016. Lo then went through Bayern Munich to Alba Berlin in 2020, where he recently became the German champion three times in a row.
With his strong performance in the Euroleague, he once again aroused interest in the NBA. “There was always interest, but never an actual deal, otherwise I probably would have accepted it,” said Lo: “You have to get a deal, otherwise it doesn’t work.”
After his strong performance against the French, Lo also received praise from Chauncey Billups. The Portland Trail Blazers coach is in Cologne as an assistant to Germany’s next opponent, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and said Lola has everything he needs for an NBA career. “It’s an honor to hear something like this from a former player,” Lo said.